Airway compromise is the second leading cause of potentially survivable battlefield death. When assessing a casualty, combat medics have a few precious seconds to assess the oral cavity to determine if the airway is blocked. Once unblocked via suction, the medic must maintain a clear airway to assure passage of air and access for additional intervention. In better equipped settings such as hospitals, providers use powerful, permanent building suction to clear obstructions and determine damage. However, the “portable” electrically powered systems available are too large and heavy to be carried by medics and civilian paramedics, Hand-powered units available are not powerful enough to remove thick vomit or blood from the mouth and throat, and our marketing surveys show they are left behind. Our objective is to create a compact, highly portable, and battery powered suction device to address these needs.